


Look and See

by ByTheBi



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, It's pretty much episode 7 but with strings, M/M, Red String of Fate, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-02
Updated: 2016-12-02
Packaged: 2018-09-03 16:51:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8721394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ByTheBi/pseuds/ByTheBi
Summary: The problem with the red strings of fate was that not everyone could always see them. It varied for everyone—a rare few saw their string before they could walk, and a some of the less fortunate did not discover their soulmate string until the later stages of life.Katsuki Yuuri had known that he was bound to Victor Nikiforov since the early age of twelve.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a tumblr prompt I was sent requesting a soulmate AU

The problem with the strings was that not everyone could always see them.

Much like any other confusing thing in life, most people received the sight during puberty. Just like riding out the roller coaster that became his vocal chords as his voice changed, a sudden discernment of the red string tied to his left pinky finger was considered just another part of growing up. Of course, it varied for everyone—a rare few saw their string before they could walk, and a some of the less fortunate did not discover their soulmate string until the later stages of life.

Katsuki Yuuri had known that he was tied to Victor Nikiforov since the early age of twelve.

His string had materialized before his eyes one winter day while he was in the ice-skating rink with Yuuko and Nishigori. It caused him to stumble, skates harshly scraping the ice as he fell. He ignored the throbbing pain in his side, the cold stinging his cheek, fixing his eyes instead on his left hand. Yuuko had picked up on it immediately.

She was squealing as she helped him up, peppering him with questions and congratulating him on being the first in their little trio to develop his string. Yuuri’s eyes followed the quivering crimson thread out the door, into the light of the muted winter sun. Too distracted to keep skating, they had packed up their things and trekked home, Yuuri’s head bowed the entire way as he continued to look on his hand in wonder. For once, Nishigori was kind enough to leave him to his thoughts. 

Yuuri didn’t have to wait long to find out to whom the string led. An avid fan of figure skating, he had been seated in front of the television, watching the male skaters perform. One skater in particular captivated him. The white haired skater was lithe, graceful, and immensely skilled. He held the audience in the palm of his hand, forcing their eyes on his routine, demanding their attention when he jumped—

No, that wasn’t quite right. Victor Nikiforov did nothing by force. He charmed, beguiled. He enchanted people in such a way that they willingly gave him their love; and if his glowing smile was any indication, Victor thrived off of their affections. He basked in the applause, eyes twinkling vivaciously despite the heaving of his thin shoulders as he sucked in much needed air. He truly was a sight to behold. 

Yuuri was not immune to Victor’s charms. In fact, he probably fell for them harder than anyone. But, at his core, Yuuri knew it wasn’t the same. He was different. Special.

Because as captivating as Victor’s beaming face was, there had been something else that drew Yuuri’s eye that day. It was a strand of string, so thin it could almost pass as a trick of the light to less observant eyes. Tremulous and red, Yuuri recognized it instantly. His breath caught in his throat, his young body choking on the weight of this revelation. 

He would be lying if he said if thoughts of Victor didn’t push him to work harder at skating over the years. His love of the ice was natural and very much his own; yet still there always remained a persistent tug towards his soulmate. It was an undeniable yearning to be where Victor was, to glide across the same ice, maybe even share the same podium, though even Yuuri knew that last thought was a bit presumptuous on his part. Nevertheless, he pushed himself to do better, be better, in the hopes that someday he would get to join his idol and soulmate.

That day did eventually come. What should have been a joyful, momentous occasion for Yuuri had instead turned out to be what might possibly have been the worst day of his life, and what was most certainly the worst day of his skating career. 

He had been hyperaware of the string on his pinky all day. He saw it like a bloody gash in the ice each time he fell during his skate. He felt it bouncing wildly as he sobbed alone in the bathroom stall. He couldn’t stomach what his family thought of him after that, what Victor thought about him. He had been considering turning and throwing up into the toilet when the young Russian Yuri had so rudely interrupted him.

Yuuri supposed he was lucky that it wasn’t a different Russian who had caught him crying. 

Then again, fate was cruel enough to ensure that he didn’t leave the Grand Prix without facing Victor at least once.

Yuuri’s heart pounded painfully, startled as he was by the sound of his name – or not his name – coming from Victor’s mouth. They were in the same room now, so near the string stretched taut between them. Was this what their first meeting would be? It certainly wasn’t how he had imagined it.

All thoughts screeched to a halt for two seconds as Victor turned. Their eyes locked, and all of sudden every thought plus a thousand more began to buzz in Yuuri’s head. This was it, he was meeting his soulmate, should he say something about it, would Victor bring it up, this wasn’t how he wanted it, but hewantedtomeethimsobaditwastimealreadyhedidn’tdeserve—

“Commemorative photo?” Victor offered, smiling. “Sure.” He gave a small wave of his hand, gesturing Yuuri over. 

Something felt wrong. The way Victor smiled at him was too distant, too formal; it was a smile reserved for the crowds. Yuuri stared at him blankly, trying to reconcile the sight before him with the moment he had always envisioned. His gaze traveled down to his hand, taking in the line that connected him to the Russian skater. He realized with a dull pang that Victor didn’t even glance at their string. He disregarded it entirely.

Either he hadn’t gained his sight yet, or he was choosing to ignore it.

Both prospects were discouraging, so Yuuri forced himself to turn away. He trudged out instead into the cold night air, abandoning the crowds behind him. His shoulders slumped heavily with the knowledge that his all his life efforts only ever seemed to lead to disappointment.

Yuuri tried not to dwell on that moment too much, but their string became a constant reminder of it. It bobbed mockingly, teasing Yuuri with the idea of what should but would not be. 

That changed when Victor became his coach.

Having his soulmate so close to him, so frequently, was torture. Yuuri had learned early on through his chats with Victor that the older man really hadn’t gained the sight yet. When pressed about his own string, Yuuri would change the subject or ignore his coach entirely. 

Anyone who knew Yuuri well could see how painfully in love he was. None of them knew for sure that Victor actually belonged to Yuuri in a way no one else could touch; though, Yuuri was pretty sure Yuuko at least had guessed. Unfortunately for him, neither Yuuko nor Minako in all her wisdom could tell him whether Victor felt the same.

Months later, as he skated his way to the center of the rink, Yuuri tried to swallow down all such thoughts and memories of Victor. He knew, however, even as he readied himself to begin, that it was impossible not to think of Victor, especially when the red string haunted him, dancing in the artificial lights. 

The music began to play and Yuuri was surprised by how relaxed he felt. I feel better after crying… he thought, idly noting that that was the first time he had cried before a competition. It was also the first time he cried in front of Victor. He wondered if he should feel embarrassed, but it had always felt too natural, too easy to be himself in front of his soulmate—and what could be more classic Yuuri than pre-competition stress? Plus, remembering the look on Victor’s face when he started to cry was priceless.

Yuuri didn’t feel himself smile, but one appeared regardless. It disappeared again in a flash, his face becoming more serene as he glided along to the music. He stretched his arms out gracefully, first away from him, then closer, airily embracing the music around him as he skated. 

He landed his first combination jump with ease. 

The crowd applauded, delighted, but the sound was secondary to the minor jolt of his string as Victor no doubt cheered him on as well. Yuuri took comfort in this, turning on his skates serenely. 

Despite knowing his coach had no control over when he would gain the sight, Yuuri took a moment to mentally berate him anyway. As my coach, he should be making me less anxious, not more. It’s obvious I have my weak moments as it is; he should be prepared for that sort of thing. Stupid Victor—

He leapt and smoothly completed a quadruple Salchow. 

The string moved again, this time more sharply upward, as though Victor had his arms up in the air. Yuuri closed his eyes, and as he entered a spin, he reminded himself that Victor was new to the role of coach. There was still a lot he had to learn. In a way, it was sort of nice to be reminded that Victor wasn’t perfect. It meant they could learn together. 

Yuuri’s heart thumped, a gentle reminder of his theme for his skate. Love. 

I wish he could see, he thought, transitioning out of his spin with ease. The string seemed to lag, forever stuck to be where Yuuri’s hand just was and not where he is, gliding a few steps ahead always. How fitting. Sometimes it felt like Victor was the exact same way—never on the same page with Yuuri, always dancing around, sometimes darting in front of his path, but oftentimes lagging a few steps behind Yuuri’s own heart. 

A single thought filled his head as he performed a triple loop. Victor, look at me.

He made a semi-circle, coming back around with his arms thrown back, chest forward. The red line that no one else can see gloriously streaked behind him. See me.

He sank onto one knee, the other leg stretched out straight behind him. His arms came down, hands passing over his face, neck, chest before flitting away again. Do you see it? 

The music grew softer, striking a tender chord in Yuuri’s vulnerable heart. He knew Victor was watching, that Victor would never take his eyes off of him. But as much as he could get him to look, he needed Victor to see. To see their fate, laid out so clearly between them. To see him—

Yuuri lost his balance at the end of his triple axel and gritted his teeth as he was forced to touch down on the ice to regain it. He knew immediately what went wrong, noting that he lost control of his speed for a minute there. Still, it didn’t rattle him. Things were going well all things considered and he could nail his next jump.

Much more conscious of his speed this time, he aced the triple flip. It bolstered his confidence, making him all the more determined. He will make Victor see him.

His routine brought him over to where Victor was, watching him with an intensity that pleased Yuuri. Victor was leaning in, his hands gripping the partition tightly in anticipation. The string remained still just around Victor’s brown glove, but it bobbed farther out due to Yuuri’s skating. 

What would he think if I made the last quad a flip instead of a toe loop?

His next combination prevented him from mulling that over for the moment. Triple axel, single loop, triple Salchow—Yuuri held his arms out to keep his balance after he over-rotated on the triple Salchow. Still not as tired as he could be, he compensated for his mistake with a triple Lutz, triple toe loop combination that gets the crowd roaring. 

If he can’t see the string, then I’ll make him understand, If he can’t see the string, then I’ll make him understand, Yuuri thought, determined. He danced into his step sequence. I can do it. I will do it. The music swelled, piano trilling with his quick turns. Sweat drips from his bangs. I’ll be stronger, and better. No one else can be his soulmate. No one can give Victor what I can. I’ll be everything and more to him—I’ll surpass his wildest imaginations!

He jumped, and time felt like it hastened forward, giving Yuuri a push into not a quadruple toe loop, but a quadruple flip. 

He landed hard on the ice, but knew that there were enough rotations for it to count. Panting, he pushed himself back up and forged on. Almost there. 

Yuuri brought things to a close with a beautiful spin, and though the music was hard to hear over the screaming of the crowd, he felt the last few notes of the song in his blood. He ended as he always does, resting one hand gracefully on his chest while the other reached out longingly. He heard the announcers shouting his name excitedly into the microphone, but he couldn’t decipher much else as he gasped for air. He held the pose for a few more seconds, staring at Victor as he tried to gauge his response to the performance. 

Victor was so hard to read with his hands covering his face. What is it? Yuuri wondered desperately. Did he like it? Is he mad at me? 

Suddenly Victor ran around the perimeter of the ice, rushing over to the exit. Yuuri hurried to meet him. 

“Victor!” he called, and even he could hear the well-earned excitement in his voice. “I did great, right?” 

Victor looked down for a moment, then looked back up. He smirks.

Time slowed for Yuuri as Victor threw himself forward, arms stretched out to catch the skater in an embrace. It stopped completely for him when their lips met, Victor’s eyes closing contentedly as he pressed his smooth lips into Yuuri’s own. His chest felt full, ready to burst. Any oxygen in his body was devoured by the fire Victor ignited in his heart. It warmed the frozen thoughts in his brain, making him keenly aware of the fact that this moment was wonderfully, unbelievably real. 

Time passed quickly in reality; it had to, Yuuri knew, because he didn’t even have time to close his eyes before he found himself on his back, his head protected from the hard ice by Victor’s steady hand. Before he can put together words, Victor pulled back to gaze at him, eyes full of adoration. 

“This was the only thing I could think of to surprise you more than you’ve surprised me,” he admitted. His eyes flickered downwards and he nodded his head toward the string cutting the small space that remained between them. Yuuri’s eyes widened. 

“Really?” he whispered breathlessly. “You know?” 

Victor’s eyes shone, meeting the love that surely must have been in Yuuri’s own gaze ounce for ounce. “I know. Maybe a part of me always knew for me to love you the way I know I do,” he muses.

Yuuri giggled, simultaneously incredulous and delighted. Victor gently pressed the tips of their noses together, refusing to break eye contact. “But Yuuri,” he murmurs. “Your beauty is what made me see it.”

The skater beamed. “Good,” he replied, pride swelling up within him. “Good, good, good. I’m so glad, Victor!” He tightened his hold on the Russian, hugging him with what little strength he had left in his body. Victor chuckled. 

“And now that I see,” he added, dipping back in for a second kiss that ended up hiding Yuuri’s smile. “I’ll never look away.”

Had anyone else been able to see what these two skaters see, know what they know, they would have been privy to the sight of a happy couple embracing on the backdrop of stark white ice, and a tiny glimmer of red between them as a brilliant reminder of their love. 

And they too would be unable to look away.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! If you liked, feel free to follow my tumblr [peachylixir.tumblr.com] or send in more prompts for me to try.


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